Sea Salt & Snow
by NinjaQueen33
Summary: The Twilight Town gang all decide to play the Secret Santa game during the holidays this year. Everyone gets into the Christmas spirit as they get their selected friend the gift they "think" they will like. Looks like the upcoming Christmas party will be full of suprises. Christmas fic!


Merry Christmas, y'all. I hope you all have a great day & happy reading :)

Also, this happens after the KH3 ending. Enjoy!

* * *

Roxas felt the cold air hug his skin as he held tightly on the three sea salt popsicles. He's glad that Axel lent one of his jackets to him since he didn't have one. It felt a little big on him due to their height difference but it felt cozy nevertheless. The sun was beginning to set, so that meant that it was the gang's daily hangout time. Roxas was the one who was stuck with getting everyone's ice cream, so he expected to be the last one to get there. He headed over to the clocktower, pushing through the uncomfortable cold weather.

After a five-minute walk through the town, he walked up the long stairway of the clock tower. Eventually, he reached the top and the first one he saw was Xion, sitting alone while watching the sunset. Even though she was wearing her own winter attire, she was blowing into her hands to warm hands up a little. Roxas smiled at her and walked over to sit next to her.

"Sup, Xion." He greeted.

The raven-haired girl turned around and flashed a bright smile towards her best friend. "Hey, Roxas. I was just thinking about you."

Roxas chuckled as he took his usual seat right next to her. He handed Xion one of the popsicles, now holding one in each hand. She accepted it and took a bite, her mouth savoring the familiar yet addicting flavor. "I never get tired of sea salt ice cream. I can eat it forever."

"Don't eat too much, or else you'll get a brain freeze." Roxas nudged.

Xion shrugged, "I don't care, it'll be worth it."

White spots suddenly fell from the orange and red sky. Both teens looked up with surprised looks, confused at the unfamiliar white stuff falling everywhere.

Roxas brows knitted together. "What the...?"

"What's with all this white powder falling from the sky?" Xion questioned.

The white specs dropped from the grey-ish looking clouds, gracefully twirling in the air. The two stared in awe as they observed it in curious wonder. Xion lifted her arm out as one slowly fell into her hand. She brought it closer to her to touch and observe it. Roxas had his sea salt popsicle in his mouth as he shifted closer to her to look at it too.

The white spec slowly turned into liquid, eventually transforming into a small pool of water in Xion's hand. Xion and Roxas gasped as they witnessed this, interested in this new discovery.

Axel reached the top of the tower, sighing with relief from climbing all of those stairs. Xion and Roxas turned around to see Axel greet them with a grin. He had a black trench coat on with a dark red beanie over his flames for hair.

"Hey, you two. Sorry I'm late, I had some errands to take care of with Isa earlier."

When Axel sat down at his usual seat, he was offered his sea salt popsicle from Roxas. Axel smiled and grabbed the popsicle stick from him. He popped a piece of the cold treat off with his mouth and look towards the gradually sinking sun.

"I wonder what this cool-looking white stuff is?" Xion said.

"Yeah, me too. Do you know what it is, Axel?" Roxas turned to Axel, expecting him to know the answer. Ever since they're organization days, he's always asked Axel the things he didn't know about. Axel would have the answer to most of his questions, so that made Roxas think that he was knowledgeable about many things. Even though he was a witty most of the time, Axel can be pretty wise when he wants to be.

Axel looked at Roxas and Xion with a lifted brow. "You two never saw snow before?"

"Snow? That's what it's called?" Xion said.

"Yeah. It doesn't really snow in Twilight Town so that's probably why you two never seen it. Snow is basically when water from the clouds up there freeze and fall from the sky due to the cold temperature. Think of it as frozen rain."

Xion face lit up in realization. "That's why it turned into water when I caught one in my hand. Wow..." She looked up at the clouds to admire the many snowflakes falling from it.

"It looks so pretty. It doesn't sound loud like rain; it just silently falls from the clouds." Roxas commented.

Axel nodded, "Yep. Snow tends to happen around Christmas time. It's about that time of the year again."

Xion and Roxas turned to him with furrowed brows. "Christmas? What's that?" They both asked.

Axel stared at them and sighed. "You too are like toddlers, curious about everything. But I know you two experienced none of this stuff so I can't blame you for that." He closed his eyes before answering. "Christmas is-"

"The most wonderful time of the year." Olette answered.

"When people give you free stuff." Hayner answered.

"A popular holiday where people practice the gift of giving and spread seasonal joy everywhere." Pence answered.

The three turned to see their three friends greet them, each with the sea salt popsicle in their hand. When they all sat down, Xion turned to Olette.

"What exactly is Christmas? It sounds like it's many things."

Roxas poked his head out behind Xion to look at them. "Yeah, it sounds like it's exciting. Is that why so many decorations and trees are around town?"

"Sure is." Hayner answered.

Roxas expression perked up, "That's so cool!"

"Alright, let me explain everything about Christmas to you two." Pence cleared his throat. "Christmas is..."

**...**

_One Christmas explanation later._

**...**

"Wow, that sounds so exciting!" Xion gushed with sparkles forming around her.

"Yeah, now I want to celebrate Christmas too!" Roxas gleamed.

"Well me, Hayner, and Pence are planning to do a Secret Santa game on Christmas. You guys can join in if you want. It'll be more fun that way." Olette explained.

"Really!?" Xion asked in an excited tone.

"Sure, we can even have a Christmas party and invite everyone over at the usual spot." Hayner suggested.

"Wait, how do you even play this Secret Santa game?" Roxas asked.

"It's basically a game where you get a person's name and you have to buy them a gift that you think they'll like." Axel explained.

"Oooohhhh..." Roxas nodded, understanding.

"I can write everyone's name on pieces of paper and put them in a jar. Then everyone can pick a name and be that person's Secret Santa." Olette suggested.

Xion squealed and she clapped her hands due to her overwhelming eager. "Oh, this is going to be so much fun!"

"So, when are we doing this?" Roxas asked Olette.

"I'll have it done by tomorrow, so we can all meet at the usual spot so that everyone can get their person."

"Sounds good to me." Axel said.

Hayner rubbed his hands together, "Oh man, this is gonna be the best Christmas yet."

"I'll start planning the Christmas party too." Olette pointed her thumb towards her.

"I'm getting in the Christmas spirit already." Roxas said as he admired the gentle snow.

**ooo**

The next day, the whole gang sat at the usual spot. Everyone was doing their own thing as they waited for Olette to come by.

"I'm really excited to see how this secret Santa game plays out." Xion spoke first.

"I just hope I get someone I know pretty well. You know so that getting them a present won't be too much of a hassle for me." Pence said. Isa silently nodded in agreement.

Olette walked in with a glass bowl in her hands. Everyone noticed the paper strips held that were contained within it. She greeted everyone with a polite smile. "Hey guys, thanks for all coming here today."

"Is everyone's names in that bowl?" Roxas asked, pointing at the glass bowl.

Olette nodded, "Sure is. Okay, so how this is going to go is that I'm going to walk around the room and let everyone pick one strip of paper from the bowl. Whoever you see on the strip of paper is the one you have to get a gift for. The exchange party will happen late Christmas morning, which means you have a couple weeks to get your gift starting from today. Is everyone okay with that?"

The gang all looked at one another and gave Olette a simultaneous nod in agreement.

The brunette smiled and nodded in confirmation. "Alright, let's get started."

She shook the glass bowl so the paper strips can mix the names up. She walked to the left side of the room and lifted the bowl up to Isa first. Eventually, she moved to the middle of the room, lifting the bowl up to Xion, who was itching to pick a strip.

About a minute later, she finally reached Roxas since he was the last person on the right side of the room. Roxas looked at the bowl and noticed that there was one last strip of paper left. The blond reached in the bowl and picked out the piece of paper.

"Alright everyone on the count of three, take a look at the person written on your scrap of paper. One. Two. Three!"

Everyone took a good look at the person's name written on their own strip of paper. Most of everyone's expressions are surprised, to say the least. The emotions on their faces are filled with either dread or anticipation. Isa was the only one who didn't show too much of a shocked expression. He just sat in curious thought of what to get for his person.

Olette sat the bowl down and clapped her hands together. "Alright! The Secret Santa game starts now. Remember you have two weeks to get your gift for your person. We all will meet here on December 25 for our gift exchange and Christmas party."

The gang, except for Isa, wasted no time and ran out of the usual spot. Shortly after, Isa walked out the usual hang out with his hands jammed in his pockets. Olette giggled as she analyzed the name written on her scrap of paper.

"Good luck, everyone."

**ooo**

**Roxas**

Skating through the town, Roxas quickly checked the store names to find the particular one he was searching for. He was starting his gift searching early since he was having trouble thinking of what to get his person.

Roxas sighed, "Where do I even begin to get a gift for this guy..."

Breezing through the cold air, his eyes shifting through the line of stores residing within the heart of Twilight Town. He began to slow down the momentum he was keeping on his skateboard and stopped in his tracks with his left foot. Flipping the board up with his foot, he caught it with ease as he sighed out a cloud of cold air.

"C'mon Roxas. Think hard on what to get for him?" Roxas closed his eyes and sat there in thought. His brain began to hurt when he was overthinking what present to get. After about a minute or so of thinking, he ran his fingers through his hair and groaned out in frustration. Some citizens threw confusing and concerned looks at him as they passed by.

A lightbulb suddenly formed above the blond's head. Roxas's face lit up and hit his fist against his palm, "Ah ha, I know where to go!"

He turned around and saw the perfect store he could get his first person's gift from. Roxas ran over towards the store with hope restoring within his heart.

"I hope he likes whatever I get him."

**ooo**

**Pence**

"Now what would my person want for Christmas?" Pence sat in his room, tapping his pen on his chin. He had his computer in front of him on a search engine website. "Hmm..."

Pence closed his eyes and made a mental picture of his person. He tried to find any clues based on their appearance and personality. A few minutes later, he opened his eyes and turned his gaming chair around to bring him in front of his computer.

He raised his hands up a little and typed along the black keyboards. "Let's see if this website has anything..."

Once he reached the website, he scrolled through the various items until a particular one caught his attention. He clicked on the item and examined the details that were presented to the customer.

Pence formed a small smile. "He should like something like this. It's at a really good price too." Everything about the item seemed to impress Pence, soon leading him to click on the "add to cart" option.

After he proceeded to check out and bought the item, he was sent to the "Your order has been shipped!" page. He took a screenshot of the tracking number and sighed with relief when the expected shipping date said "_December 24th_".

"Well, that was easy." Pence closed his computer then sat up from his gaming chair to lay down on his bed. "Now for a well-deserved nap."

**ooo**

**Xion**

The girl nervously chuckled as she rubbed the back of her head. "Turns out this is more difficult than I thought..."

A black cat walked up to her and made little laps around her leg. Xion looked down to see the kitten rub its face against her ankle, already taking a liking to her. The girl smiled as she bent down to pet the friendly feline.

"Aw, well aren't you a cutie patootie? Maybe you can help me with my present searching, huh little cat?"

The kitten purred as it closed its eyes in bliss from the feeling of her head rubs.

As she kept petting the nice creature, an idea came to her head. "Maybe they'll like something like that...yeah I'll get that!"

She was about to run off but the kitten's little meow made her immediately stop. Turning around she saw the kitten's cute green eyes, silently pleading to take it with her. Xion smiled, "You want to join me in my Secret Santa hunting adventure?" She picked it up and caressed it's back. The cat meowed in response before it licked her arm that was holding it up.

"Let's go little cat. I think I have a good idea of what to get my person."

**ooo**

**Olette**

"Oh boy, this should be easy for me, but I have absolutely no idea what to get..." The brunette pouted as she sat on the edge of the large water fountain. She decided to take a break since she has been looking through countless shops for an entire hour and a half. She could have sworn she had her person in the bag and wouldn't sweat getting them a gift.

But here she was, at the park, conflicted on what to get her person. All of her previous times playing Secret Santa she had no trouble getting their present and impressing them with it.

She brought her fingers up to her head and rubbed her temples due to slight frustration. "What am I going to get them...?"

**ooo**

**Axel**

Axel let out a deep sigh as he lightly banged his head on the clock tower building.

"Mommy why is that tall man banging his head on the wall?" A kid commented as he passed by, holding his mother's hand.

"I don't know sweetie, but don't look over there. He may be a weirdo." The mother rushed the child forward while throwing Axel a judging and concerned look.

Axel overheard this and stopped banging his head. The tall redhead groaned and walked up the clock tower to clear his mind from all of this Secret Santa stuff. When he reached the top, he rested his arms behind his head as he relaxed a bit, closing his eyes as he racked his brain for a present idea.

Waking up from the nap he didn't mean to take, the first thing he saw was an artist painting on his canvas right beside him. The young man looked like he was trying to create the landscape of Twilight Town from a high perspective. The longer Axel stared, the more he was amazed at the man's artistry technique and how he blended the colors with his pallet knife.

Axel silently watched him for about thirty minutes, carefully watching the step by step process as he brought his oil painting of Twilight Town to life. Soon the artist was done and started to leave, causing Axel to raise from his relaxed spot and rush over to him. "Hey!"

The painter turned around with a curious yet welcoming look on his face. "Uh, yes? How can I help you?"

Axel caught his breath since his stamina wasn't the best. "Are...you willing...to sell that...painting...?"

The artist sat for a moment and thought about it. He then nodded in approval to Axel. "Sure, I was just painting this out of boredom so yeah, I'm willing to sell it."

"Okay cool. I'm looking for a gift and I'm short on ideas. How much do I gotta pay?"

The artist rubbed his chin. "Hmmm...you can pay me 550 munny for it."

Axel eye twitched, "Isn't that a little much, buddy?"

"Hey, my art is pretty popular around town. Plus, art supplies are not cheap. An artist gotta do what an artist gotta do, you know."

Axel sighed but dug deep in his pockets. He somehow managed to cough up 550 munny and handed it over to the artist. The artist smiled as he accepted the money. "Thank you for your patronage." He handed over the painting to Axel.

"Thanks dude." Axel looked down and examined the artwork. "Let's hope they like this."

**ooo**

**Isa**

Isa quietly walked towards the store he was searching for, looking down at the scrip of paper with his person's name on it. "I'm pretty sure he'll like something from this place."

The stoic man stuffed his hands in his pockets as he walked through the automatic doors of the store, his eyes taking in the rows of blinding bright lights. The artificial lights illuminated the room in all shapes and sizes, making Isa's eyes squint since it was too much for his eyesight.

"How can he look at these things all day?" He questioned bitterly.

**ooo**

**Hayner**

"Oh man, this is gonna be too easy. Now let's see...if I was him what would I want that I don't have." The blondie tapped his foot and rubbed his finger on his arm as he thought hard on what his person would possibly want. After about a minute of thinking, he snapped his fingers and made a face of realization.

He slammed his fist in his palm. "I got it! He's been talking about wanting it since forever."

He grinned and ran to the store he knew where to get his present from. "Man, I'm so lucky! I knew this year's Secret Santa was going to be a piece of cake."

**ooo**

**December 25th**

The gifts of all shapes and sizes sat under the tall and decorated Christmas tree. Everyone was chatting, laughing, and eating away as the cheerful holiday music played from the speakers. Rows of white and multi-colored little artificial lights illuminated the room, highlighting the details on the party-goers faces. Everyone, even Isa in his own way, was in an elevated mood as they enjoyed their late Christmas morning.

An hour at the party, Olette decided to start the Secret Santa game so she stood on one of the coffee tables. She tried to get the people's attention but everyone was busy doing their own thing and too distracted to notice her.

Olette cleared her throat loudly but that still didn't work. She began to get frustrated so she took her whistle out of her pocket and blew hard on it. The high-pitched sound made everyone stop whatever they were doing and shift their attention toward Olette. The brunette sighed and took a good look at the party-goers.

"Now that I have everyone's undivided attention, I think it's time we start the Secret Santa game."

Everyone started to get excited and sat down at their usual seats. Olette smiled as she walked near the Christmas tree. "So how this is gonna go is that I'll give out the person's present and after opening the present the person has to guess who got them the gift. If the person guesses their Secret Santa right then I will award them with a cute little goodie bag. Remember that you have one attempt in guessing so make sure you choose wisely before answering."

"Ooh, this is going to be so fun!" Xion bounced around in her seat, unable to contain herself.

Olette bent down and picked the present that was right beside her foot. It was a small one but shaped in a thick square box. She turned the present over and saw the name of the person it was meant for. "Axel, I believe this is yours."

Axel's face perked up and sat up from his relaxed posture. "Oh, yeah? Aren't we off to a great start?"

Olette handed him the present, Axel shook the boxed present and examined it a bit.

"Just open it already. The anticipation is killing me." Roxas teased.

"Alright, alright. Jeez, impatient as ever." He ripped off the wrapping paper as everyone watched him intently. The present revealed to be a picture of a video camera on the white box, having the description all of the features it has on it. Axel slowly nodded but still kept an approving smile on his face. "A video camera. I wasn't expecting this but I definitely appreciate it."

"So now it's time for you to guess your Secret Santa." Olette said.

Axel looked up and scratched his head for a good ten seconds before resulting in a knowable "Ah!" sound. "Pence is my secret Santa."

Pence clapped his hands, flashing a proud smile to Axel. "Nice one, Axel. How did you know?"

"Who else would buy me this fancy-schmancy little camera here? No one knows their tech stuff any more than you do."

Pence chuckled, "You're right about that."

"Thanks man, I can take some cool little videos with this." Axel raised up the camera,

"You're welcome, dude."

"Since you guess correct, here's your goodie bag." Olette handed him the bag filled with treats; some candy, a couple of cookies, and a few accessories.

"Why thank you ma'am." Axel accepted the bag and pulled out a sugar cookie to eat.

"Alright, next present." Olette reached over to grab the medium-sized, oddly shaped present. "Isa, this is yours."

Isa silently received the present from her. He took a good look at it before calmly unwrapping the paper.

"I wonder what present Isa got." Axel muffled with the cookie in his mouth. Wearing an amused expression with his chin resting on the palm of his hand.

"The real question is, will he like it regardless?" Xion jokingly questioned.

Isa shot her a playful warning look, making the girl raise her hands in defense. "Kidding, kidding..."

After fully unwrapping it, the present revealed to be a pocket telescope. It had a leather sheath with a brass coating on the very top and the bottom half. Isa still kept his calm expression but pulled out the telescope and felt out the smooth leather sheath.

"Wow, that looks nice." Pence commented.

"So, Isa? Do you know who your Secret Santa is?" Olette asked.

"I'm going take a wild guess and say that Hayner got it."

Hayner made a shocked but confused expression at his Secret Santa accusation. "Oh, no dude it wasn't me. I probably would have gotten you a lamp or something."

Isa nodded. "I see."

"It was me. I got you the gift." Roxas confessed.

Isa looked over to him and his brows perked a little from surprise. "You?"

"Yeah. I saw you star gazing a few weeks ago. So, the only thing I can think of getting you was a telescope. You know so that you can get a closer look at the night sky and all." Roxas explained.

Isa stared at him for a moment before showing him a small smile of gratitude. "Well thank you, Roxas. This will be quite useful to me."

Roxas relaxed from his nervous state and flashed him a big smile. Unable to contain the happiness that he actually liked his gift. "No problem, man."

"Next present!" Olette grabbed the present in the green and red stripes wrapping paper. "It's your turn, Xion."

Xion jumped up from her seat and hurried over to receive her gift. Her eyes shined with excitement as she held the present in her hands. She quickly retreated to her seat and ripped the wrapping paper away.

"Man, I never saw you this eager, Xion." Roxas chuckled.

"It's like seeing a little kid unwrap a piece of candy." Axel teased.

Xion shot them a playful "Shut up, you two." look and kept unwrapping her gift. Soon she saw that she received a seashell hair clip. She gasped as she felt the fine details of the hair accessory. The light blue, dark blue and purple colors blended in perfectly with shimmering glitter smeared over it. Three pearls were sitting on the bottom of the clam hair accessory, giving it that "underwater" look to it.

"Oh my gosh..." Xion didn't know what to say.

"That's like the perfect present for you." Roxas commented as he stared at the present in wonder.

Xion turned to Axel, "Axel, did you get this for me? You're the only person other than Roxas that knows my love for seashells."

Axel shook his head, "Nah, I wasn't your Secret Santa. I don't even think I would have found a pretty thing like that anyway. Whoever got that for you spend quite a lot of bucks for it."

"I'm your Secret Santa." Olette admitted.

Xion faced her and made an expression of realization. "Really, Olette? How did you know about my love for seashells?"

"Remember about a month ago we had a sleepover over at my house?"

Xion slowly nodded, "Uh-huh...?"

"Well when you were asleep, you were talking in your sleep about your love for seashells. I never told you about it because I forgot about it the next morning. But when I was thinking about what to get you, I remembered that night and decided to get you that hair clip."

Xion's eyes welled up and ran over to hug Olette. "Oh, Olette you're the best! I love the hair clip already, thank you so much!"

Olette smiled and patted her on the back. "Anytime, Xion. You didn't guess me though, so I'm sorry but you can't get a goodie bag."

Xion pulled back and waved it off. "It's fine, this present is more than enough for me." Xion put the clip in her hair and felt on it, overjoyed with her present.

"Okay, next gift." Olette picked up a heavy box, struggling a bit to hold it up. "Pence this is yours..."

Pence accepted the gift and took notice of the heavyweight. "Jeez, what's in here? Piles of coal?"

"That'll be funny if was." Hayner laughed.

Pence threw him a "Really?" look and unwrapped the festive wrapping paper. Ripping the last piece off, the present revealed to be a widescreen computer monitor. Pence jaw dropped as he opened the box and felt on the large electronic device. "No way..."

"Someone bought you a computer...?" Hayner questioned in disbelief. "Who had the munny to buy that expensive thing?"

"Not just any computer...this is a twenty-seven-inch 4k resolution HD computer monitor. I've wanted a computer like this for the longest time."

Hayner sweatdropped, "Uh...I don't know what half of those terms mean, but I'm glad you got your dream computer."

"It couldn't have been better timing because my own computer started malfunctioning. It's been giving me constant problems lately."

"Take a guess of your Secret Santa, Pence." Olette said.

Pence tapped his finger on his lips, "Hmm, I'm going to take a wild guess and say that Isa got it for me."

Isa's brows perked up. "That's actually right. How did you know it was me?"

Pence shrugged his shoulders. "Just a random guess. I'm actually pretty surprised you were my Secret Santa. Thanks Isa, this is exactly what I wanted."

Isa rubbed the back of his head. "Don't mention it."

"_I just chose the first computer I saw at that electronics store_." Isa spoke in his mind.

"Here's your goodie Pence." Olette handed over the tied bag.

"Thanks." He untied the ribbon of the bag and pulled out a chocolate pretzel bite.

"Next present." Olette reached over to pick up the oddly shaped present. She read the name to see Hayner written across the green wrapping paper. "Hayner, this is yours."

"Sweet!" Hayner eagerly took the present from Olette. "I hope it's something good."

After unwrapping it, the gift revealed to be a pair of cat house shoes. Hayner reacted with a blank expression as he looked down at the present he received.

"Cat slippers?"

Axel and Roxas quietly snickered as they watched their friend in his disappointed state.

Xion couldn't contain herself any longer so she stood up. "I'm sorry Olette. I know he was supposed to guess but I have to confess that I got it for him. Hayner, I'm your Secret Santa."

Hayner looked up and saw the hopeful look on Xion's face. "Oh really? I never thought I'd get cat house shoes for Christmas..."

Xion's noticed his expression and started to become worried. "You don't like it? You don't sound too happy about it..." She waved her hands frantically. "I-If you don't I can take it back and get you something else. I'm so sorry, I was really worried about getting you the wrong thing. Forgive me if you don't like it. Man, I should have known better."

Hayner saw the sad look on her face and felt like he just stabbed a newborn kitten. He raised his hands up in an attempt to reassure her. "Oh no no, don't blame yourself Xion. Please don't apologize. I actually..." He looked down at the cat house shoes. They weren't his style at all but he hated the fact that Xion was being so hard on herself on his behalf. "I love these house shoes!"

Xion looked up, shocked by what he said. "What...? Really!? You do!?"

Hayner scoffed and waved her off. "Oh please, I've needed house slippers for the longest time. Not only that, but it's cat slippers, so that makes ten times better. In fact, I'll even send you pictures of me wearing them to show you my love for them. I couldn't ask for anything better, so thank you Xion. I love them, honestly."

Xion's hopeful expression came back and she ran over to hug him. Hayner was surprised at first but raised his hand to slowly pat her back.

Everyone else smiled at the sight, secretly knowing what Hayner did.

When Xion pulled apart from him, she patted his shoulder. "Thank you so much, I'm so happy you like them. I gotta go let my cat friend know you like them when I find him." She walked back over to her seat, sparkles twinkling around her to emphasize her euphoric aura.

Hayner smiled at the sight then looked down at the cute grey cat house slippers. He sighed as he felt on the fuzzy fabric.

"_Maybe these can keep my feet warm and cozy since my floor is always cold to walk on_." he thought optimistically.

"Even though you didn't guess on your Secret Santa, you still get a goodie bag." Olette said, lifted the bag up to him.

Hayner looked confused, "But I didn't guess-"

Olette got close to his face with a knowing smile. "I know you didn't, but you were a good sport about your present. So, you rewarding you with a goodie bag."

Hayner smiled back and accepted the tied bag. "Thanks, Olette."

"You're welcome."

"Nice one man." Pence nudged him.

Olette clasped her hands together. "Alright, two more to go. Roxas, I believe this one is yours." She handed over the long rectangular boxed shaped present, covered with white wrapping paper with a snowman pattern.

Roxas carefully received the present from her. "I wonder what it is. It seems pretty heavy."

"Well quit pondering and tear it open already." Axel said.

"Hold on, and you call me impatient..." Roxas ripped off the wrapping paper, seeing the image of a skateboard on a rectangular box. He gasped with a wide smile gracing his face, leading him to open the box to pull out the brand-new skateboard. But not just any skateboard, it was one he had his eye on for a long time and now it was finally in his hands.

"I was planning on getting this skateboard for months." Roxas instantly turned to Hayner. Seeing his cheeky grin was a dead giveaway. "Hayner did you...?"

"Remember a few months ago when we went to the skateboard shop together? You were talking my head off about how much you wanted that specific skateboard. So of course, when I was your Secret Santa, the first thing I thought about was getting you a new skateboard. Good thing it was still there at the shop when I got there."

"Hayner. I love you." Roxas said bluntly.

Hayner chuckled, "I love you too man."

Roxas lifted up the new skateboard, examining the polished wheels and sick art design. "I can't wait to use this bad boy later on today."

"Here's your goodie Roxas since you guessed right." Olette handed over the tied bag.

"Sweet." Roxas accepted the bag and took a blue candy cane out. He unwrapped the paper at the top and started to bite on it. "Mmm, what are these? They're so good." He muffled with the candy in his mouth.

"It's called a candy cane. I think yours is blue raspberry." Axel answered.

Roxas hummed in approval as he sucked on the candy in bliss.

"Last but certainly not least...it's finally my turn." Olette eyed the last gift beside the tree. The present was shaped like a large square that was skinny in width.

Olette's green eyes curiously scanned the white and red polka-dotted wrapping paper. She lifted the wide present and turned to Axel. "Since you're the only person left who wasn't called, I assume you're my Secret Santa."

Axel nodded, chuckling right after. "Yeah, pretty hard to keep it a secret at this point."

"Well whatever it is, I'm sure I'll like it."

Axel started to chuckle nervously. "I sure hope so..."

The brunette calmly tore the wrapping paper off. Everyone was carefully watching her, extremely curious to see what Axel got her. The present was an oil painting of the landscape of Twilight Town. The girl's mouth hung open a little as she held the painted canvas out to examine it.

"Oh my..."

"Look I was having trouble with what to get you and the artist I met that day was my only hope. I'm not good at these types of things so I'm sorry-"

"Sorry? Are you kidding me? This artwork is none only but Tenser Black's work. He's my favorite artist like ever! Do you have any idea how hard it is to get one of his pieces? What magic did you pull to get a painting by him, Axel?"

Axel was dumbfounded by her reaction. He thought she would have hated it, when in reality it was the perfect gift for her.

"Well, um, I just saw him painting on the clock tower one day and asked if I can buy it from him. It cost me quite a bit munny, but he was nonchalant about giving me one of his works so it wasn't too much of a hassle."

"He's the most popular artist in Twilight Town. It's very hard to get one of his works from him, so much that the local art museum has a heavily guarded room just for his pieces. Anyone would be lucky to get even a simple little doodle from the guy. He's pretty mysterious and doesn't really show his face around town too much. So, your encounter with him is dare I say, a lucky one." Pence explained.

"Yeah, believe it or not, but Olette has a keen eye for art. Has been ever since we were little kids. Tenser Black is Olette's favorite artist like ever. Getting one of his paintings is one of her dreams." Hayner added.

"Really!? All that happened is that I woke up from a nap and saw him painting the town on top of the clock tower. You mean to tell me that I'm one of the few people in town that actually met this guy."

Hayner and Pence nodded.

"Well wasn't I born under a special star?" Axel smirked.

"Thanks so much Axel, I owe you big time for this. I'm going to cherish and hold on this painting with my life." Olette flashed him a thankful smile. Axel's face warmed up and rubbed the back of his head as he shifted his eyes away from her.

"Uh, sure, yeah no problem."

"Well, the Secret Santa game is now over. I hope everyone at least likes their gift. This was so much fun and I just want to thank everyone for participating and coming to the party."

Everyone agreed to Olette's words by nodding and adding in their own comments.

"Let's keep this party going shall we!?" Xion exclaimed energetically.

"Yeah!" Everyone, except for Isa, agreed cheerfully.

The party resumed with the tasting of holiday treats and the sing along to the upbeat Christmas tunes. Soon one of Hayner's friends burst into the party, heavily catching his breath while placing his hands on his knees. Everybody turned their attention towards the guy and Hayner walked up to him to see what he wanted.

"Yo Josh, what are you doing here." Hayner patted him on the back. "If you're here for the gingerbread cookies, I'm sorry man but I just snagged the last piece."

Josh calmed his breathing rate and lifted himself to face Hayner. "Dude, it's snowing like crazy outside right now."

Hayner blinked to process what he just said. "You mean like how it snowed a little bit a couple weeks back?"

Josh shook his head. "No man, it's actually piles of snow on the ground. People are actually making snow angels and snowmen outside. It's a winter wonderland out there. You and everyone have to check it out."

The gang stepped outside and eyed the rapidly falling snow in wonder. The same astonishing feeling Roxas and Xion felt when they saw snow for the first time came back. But the feeling intensified by ten times as they felt the snowfall land on their face and clothes.

"It's snowing again..." Roxas breathed out.

"But faster this time. So much that it's covering the ground and the buildings." Xion said.

Pence stuck his tongue out to taste a snowflake. "I never saw it snow this much before."

"It's like a Christmas miracle." Olette twirled around.

Most of the citizens of Twilight Town were all outside, playing and admiring the falling snow. Children ran around, playing various games as the snow flew behind their feet. The snowfall piling in the ground were forming into thick sheets of still white.

Axel reached down and balled a small pile of snow into a snowball. He formed an evil smirk and threw it at Roxas. The blond turned around with a confused look. "Did you just throw that at me, Axel?"

"I sure did. You up for a snowball fight or what?"

Roxas shook his head and grinned at him. "Sure. But it'll be a fight you'll lose." He bent down and picked up a pile of snow. When he formed it with his hand, he threw it towards his direction. Axel quickly thought of how to dodge it, so he brought Hayner in front of him to serve as his human shield.

The snowball hit Hayner's face, causing him to shoot a confused and irritated look towards Roxas. "What gives Roxas? I buy you a skateboard and you repay me by throwing a snowball at me."

Axel let out an evil laugh as he moved from Hayner. Roxas rubbed the back of his head apologetically and pointed at Axel with his other hand. "I was trying to hit Axel. Sorry, Hayner."

"Well sorry ain't gonna cut it." Hayner smirked as he threw a snowball at Roxas. It hit Pence so hard that he fell to the ground. "What the heck, Hayner!?" Pence scolded.

Hayner chuckled nervously. "My bad..."

This soon led to a full out snowball fight between everyone. It was every man for themselves, with no mercy on the small open battlefield in front of the usual spot. For the rest of the early afternoon, they had fun in the snow and cherished the perfectly timed snow day.

The seven friends enjoyed their gifts and festive filled day, marking it as the best Christmas they have ever witnessed.

* * *

Hope you enjoyed this. Happy holidays and happy new year!

_**"For it is in giving that we receive." - Francis of Assisi**_

-NinjaQueen33


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